My Broken Savior
by ThePhenomenalLunaticLucy
Summary: Ana Maria Rodriguez is a Texas girl who had to move to Cincinnati to escape the demons of her past, thinking she is gonna spend her final year of high school alone, she meets one guy who could possibly be just as messed up as her, and just as Ana Maria starts to believe she has finally found happiness, her past comes back to ruin the only greatest thing she had going on in her life
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Meeting Jon Good

My name is Ana Maria Rodriguez, and I'm 17 years old and I'm originally from Houston, Texas, but because of some bad circumstances in Texas (which I won't talk about, not now especially) I am now living in Cincinnati, Ohio with my Aunt Elizabeth.

I'm not gonna sit here and lie to all of you by saying that living here in Ohio has been a complete nightmare for me, because it hasn't, I enjoy the new places I've seen here in Cincinnati, the only problem I have about Ohio is the school I have to go to, I hate it there, Cincinnati Heights High School is probably the worst High School in all of Ohio combined, in my opinion, people here are so rude and snobby, they have their heads so far up their own asses, it's unreal

When I arrived at my first class, I was the only one late, it wasn't my fault though, the school counselor had a difficult time finding my schedule, and I got lost trying to find my first class

I quietly walked up to my teacher, Ms. James and gave her my schedule

"I'm Ana Maria Rodriguez, the new student" I told her, trying my hardest not to see almost everyone in the class burning me alive with their stares

"Welcome to American Government, Ana Maria" said Ms. James as she gave me back my schedule

"Please take a seat anywhere you wish, Ana Maria, while I assign you a textbook, please take the spare one under the desk you wish to seat in and begin reading chapter 12, once you are done I want for you to do the questions at the end of the chapter" ordered Ms. James

I nodded and then quickly searched for an empty desk, I silently cheered as I found an empty desk in the back, I made my way towards the desk, avoiding the stares and whispers along the way

I then reached under the desk and got my Government textbook and began my assignment

"Chapter 12: The Bill Of Rights" I read quietly

As I worked on reading the chapter, I felt someone tap on my shoulder, I looked over to see a boy across from me who looked a year older than me, he had a black hooded sweater on with black jeans and sandy blonde hair, I noticed he also had the deepest set of blue-gray eyes I had ever seen in my life, I had to look away because I had found myself staring at him, and I didn't wanna seem like a weirdo to him

I then felt him tap on my shoulder again, I looked over and silently asked "What do you want?"

He responded by giving me a slip of paper, smirking at me and then turned around

I opened the piece of paper and saw a simple question written on it

'Can I look at your schedule, maybe I can show you to your next class?'

I looked over at the boy and felt my cheeks burning, maybe I thought, I could make a friend in this seemingly horrible school, so I responded to the note then grabbed my schedule from my bookbag and attached it to the note then tapped on his shoulder, when he looked up to see me, I handed him the slip of paper and continued to work on my assignment.

Minutes later, I felt him tapping at my shoulder again then gave me back my schedule along with the note, I opened up the note and read what it said

'Congrats sunshine, you're stuck with me from now on' I couldn't help but begin smiling widely.

.

.

.

.

.

I had just finished answering all the questions based on the chapter when I heard the bell ring, signaling the end of class, I stood and began putting all my things away in my backpack when I heard my name being called

"You're Ana Maria, right?" I turned to see the boy from earlier standing behind me

"Yeah, that's me" I told him, trying not to start blushing again

"Well, let's get going sunshine, don't wanna be late again, do ya?" he asked, smirking at me and holy crow, when I heard him talk for the first time, his voice was so deep and sexy, it was like listening to a god speak

I smiled at him "I'd like that, if that's okay with you, I mean"

"Come on, then"

"I have to go get my textbook from Ms. James first" I replied

"Wait here, I'll get it for you" I did as he said and waited for him while he went up to Ms. James and got my book for me

The boy then began making his way towards me with my textbook in his arms, when he finally reached me, he gave me the book and I put it inside my backpack

"Thank you for getting my textbook for me, I appreciate it" I told him as he lead me out of the classroom

"It was nothing, sunshine, let's get going"

"So I'm guessing since you said I'm stuck with you, I have every class with you?" I asked

"Correct, now come on, next class is English Lit, and the class is a bit far from here, on the other side of the building"

"Okay, but I was thinking since you already know my name, I think it's a bit fair if I knew yours, that way at least I can match a name to a face"

The boy grinned at me, then stretched out his hand

"The name's Good, Jonathan Good, but you can call me Jon, pleasure to meet ya, sunshine"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Making Friends and Enemies along the Way

I reached out to shake Jon's hand "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Jonathan"

Jon grinned at me "So fancy, come on, sunshine let's get out of here"

I smiled at him and he then began leading me towards our next class

"Our English Lit teacher is pretty cool, he doesn't care what you're doing as long as you do your work and turn it in at the end of the period" Jon explained as he walked in a fast pace, bumping into other students and ignoring their rude stares while I tried to keep up with him

"Could you please walk a bit slower, it's like you're power walking on me" I whined as I finally reached him

"Sorry sunshine, just trying to get to the class first, I want you to meet my friends, I think you'll like them" said Jon, taking my arm and pulling me towards him

We were near the class when a guy bumped into me hard, knocking me down to the floor

"Watch where you're going, loser" growled the guy as Jon helped me up, and I saw as a small crowd began forming around us

"What the hell is your problem, asshole, you knocked into me" I snapped, taking Jon's hand and lifted myself back up

"If it isn't Jon Good, I thought I told you to stay away from this area, freak" said the bulking boy

"Fuck off, Ryan" hissed Jon, pulling me towards him

Ryan towered over us, now normally I would be terrified of big, tall guys like Ryan here, but this guy had this attitude that rubbed me the wrong way, he was a bully, I knew that for sure, and if there was one thing I hated, it was bullies, and my anger always got the best of me when people picked on others

Jon was about to say something to the big guy, but I wanted to say something first

"Jon and I can go around wherever we want, prick, we don't need to ask you for permission to walk to our class, and last time I checked this is a public place, people are allowed to walk around the school, they kind of have to if they want to get to their class on time" the crowd was beginning to get a bit larger and some even 'ooo'ed, managing to upset Ryan more

Jon looked at me in surprise, and the guy looked pissed beyond all hell

"Who the hell are you to talk to me like that, do you know who I am?" Ryan demanded, making his way towards me, but Jon stood defensively in front of me

I walked around Jon and stood face to face with Ryan

"You are the definition of a prick, you think you're so high and mighty, walking around like you own the place, people like you are the reason so many other kids are messed up, because you pick on their weaknesses and torment them, well guess what, you're not going to get away with treating me like shit, I may be the new girl, but I'm not some little weakling you can push around, you understand me?" I was fuming, I turned to face Jon who was in shock

"You think you're so tough with your little boyfriend Jon with you, huh?" Ryan smirked, but it wasn't like Jon's good-natured smirk, this was a demented smirk

"Jon isn't my boyfriend, he's my friend, and no I do not need him to be around so he can defend me, I can stand up for myself with no one's help" I sneered, backing away from him

"Let's go Jon, I'm getting tired of lowering my IQ by talking to this dumbass" I then began walking towards our class, the crowd around us watched us leave in stunned silence

Jon then ran up to me and next thing I knew, I was engulfed in a hug

"Whoa, what's this about?" I asked, trying to hide my blush from him, he then pulled away and had the biggest smile on his face, showing his sexy dimples

'_Those dimples are so damn cute!' _I thought as I laughed nervously

"No one, besides me, Joe or Colby had ever stood up to Ryan the way you did just now, that was incredible!" Jon said, patting me on the back

"Now I know that Joe and Colby are going to like you a lot" He added, I just laughed and walked towards our class arm-in-arm

.

.

.

.

As we stepped into class, our teacher, looked at us from the front of the class, where he was giving the students the book they were assigned for the next few weeks

"Let me guess, Jon, was it Ryan?" the teacher asked

"Yes, sir" Jon answered

"That kid is such a pain, come in then, I was just giving away our reading assignment" when the teacher saw me, he smiled warmly at me, motioning for me to come over

"You must be a new student?" he asked

"Yes, sir, my name is Ana Maria Rodriguez, here is my schedule" I handed the teacher m schedule and he went over to verify it on his computer

"Alright, Ana Maria, welcome to English Lit, I'm Mr. Harrison" Mr. Harrison said, patting my shoulder

"Nice to meet you Mr. Harrison" I replied

"I know this is a bit elementary school, but can you please tell us a bit about yourself?" asked Mr. Henderson, placing me in front of the entire class, Jon had already taken his seat and had left me by myself

"Well, I'm 17 years old, I'm originally from Houston, Texas, I'm Mexican, I like to read a lot, I love playing video games, and comic books are my pastime, I'm a huge Batman and wrestling fan, and I like Italian food" I listed off all my likes then made my way to the empty seat next to Jon

"Alright, pretty cool, now before Jon and Ana Maria graced us with their presence, I was telling you about our next reading assignment, now who can tell me who is familiar with the great American author F. Scott Fitzgerald?"

My eyes widened when he mentioned the author's name, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote my all-time favorite book, _The Great Gatsby_

When Mr. Henderson saw that nobody raised their hands, he called my name

"Ana Maria, do you know who he is?"

"Yes, sir, F. Scott Fitzgerald is the author of many short stories, but he is widely known as the author who wrote _The Great Gatsby"_ I responded

"Well done!" I smiled at him and Jon looked at me and mouthed 'smarty pants' to which I responded my sticking my tongue out at him, the two guys across from him waved hello at me, and I returned the favor, I figured those two guys were Jon's friends

"We shall be reading The Great Gatsby for the next couple of days, when we are done reading the book, we shall watch the movie adaptations of said movies, the one from 1974 and the 2013 adaptation with Leonardo DiCaprio" at the mention of the actor's name, almost all the girls in the class sighed dreamily, I just rolled my eyes in annoyance

"We will be watching it to compare and contrast how the two movies vary in forms of plot and how much similarities both movies share with the book" Mr. Henderson explained, as he handed me, Jon and his two friends a copy of the book

"For right now, what I want you to do, is read the first chapter in groups of 4, you can choose your group, but if I see that you are not doing your assignment, I will break you up" the teacher warned

"Hey Ana, scoot your desk over here" Jon said and I dragged the desk over to his

"Guys, I want you to meet Ana Maria, Ana Maria, these are my best buds, Joe (a tall, tan, and muscular guy with long raven hair and his right arm covered in tattoos) and Colby (a smaller, thinner guy with long black, but not as long as Joe's, with a blonde streak)

"Hi, nice to meet y'all" I smiled shyly at them

"She is also the girl that stood up to Ryan earlier today" added Jon, smiling proudly at me

Colby and Joe looked at me in shock

"Seriously, pretty little thing like you stood up to the big bad wolf?" teased Colby

"I just hate people like him, he had knocked me to the ground and blamed me for bumping into him, I stood up and decided to let him have it, I hate self-righteous assholes like him" I sneered, trying not to let my anger get the best of me

"I think you and I are going to get along just great" smiled Colby as he high fived me

"Welcome to our little group of friends" said Joe as he patted me on my shoulder

"Thanks guys"

We made small talk as we read The Great Gatsby, Jon would occasionally fall asleep and I would have to poke him just so he could wake up, I was so caught up in the book I didn't even notice the bell ringing

"Come on, sunshine, we got to get to our next class, Joe and Colby aren't with us, and this teacher is a pain in the ass" Jon whined as he grabbed my backpack and slung it over his shoulder, Colby and Joe noticed this and grinned, I just stared at them confused

"It was nice meeting you Colby and Joe!" I called as I waved then followed Jon out of the classroom

"Same here Ana Maria! See you at lunch!" Colby called back, waving at us

"Thanks for carrying my book bag, Jon" I uttered as I finally caught up to him

"My pleasure, sunshine, now a bit of info on our next class" Jon stated, I saw he had a serious expression on his face, and I paid full attention to him

"Next class is geometry, the teacher's name is Mrs. Lopez, she's Colby's mother, and one would think that because she's my best friend's mom she'd be a cool teacher, right? Wrong! That woman hates my guts for that same reason, because I'm friends with her son, she thinks Colby's too good to be friends with a street rat like me so she tries to make my life hell, she just loves to torment me by making me like a dumbass in front of the entire class"

"Does Colby know about this?" I asked him, feeling horrible for him

"He knows, and he has confronted her about it, but it's like fighting with a wall, you know? Won't listen to anything Colby has to say if it's about me, I still ask myself why the fuck she hates me, I never gave the lady a reason to hate me in the first place"

"She's probably jealous she's not as awesome as you" I teased, trying to cheer him up

It worked, Jon smiled and gently squeezed my shoulder "Thanks, Sunshine"

"Aw, look guys, the freak finally found him a girlfriend" said a voice behind us; we turned to face Ryan with some jocks and a few of the school cheerleaders surrounding them

I was beginning to wonder if Jon got bothered by Ryan's comment, but it didn't, instead he just smirked

"At least I'm getting laid, Stone" Jon gloated as he put his arm around me, making me blush crimson

Ryan's cocky smirk quickly vanished and was replaced by a glare

"Let's go, Ryan, these weirdoes are not worth it" said one of the cheerleaders, looking at me with disgust, I returned the favor and flipped her off

"Aw, Mercedes, are you still upset Joe found someone better than you?" Jon teased; I looked at him in confusion

"Whatever, Joe is so old news" The cheerleader now known as Mercedes snapped, to which Jon responded by chuckling in amusement

"Come on Sunshine, let's get going to class, we're going nowhere with these losers" said Jon, gently pulling me towards the double doors that lead to our next class

"You're right" I added "I'd rather get to class and actually learn something useful than lose more brain cells talking to these idiots"

I had my back turned so I couldn't see that Mercedes had grabbed my hair and yanked me down, she began hitting and scratching at me, I blocked her hits and finally managed to land a punch at her, I took my fist and hit her as hard as I could in the nose, I then threw her off me and got on top of her and began hitting her back

"You picked the wrong girl to fuck with today!" I screeched, grabbing her hair and slammed her head against the linoleum floor

"Ana Maria, stop!" I heard Jon shout, then I felt him pull me off of Mercedes, and Ryan and the jocks were pulling Mercedes away from me, but I was still seething mad, I was kicking and screaming my head off

"You touch me again bitch and I promise you, you'll end up in the hospital" I hissed

Mercedes was a mess; her hair was all over the place and her nose was all bloody

"Your little girlfriend is going to pay for what she did to me, Good" Mercedes barked, holding her nose to stop the bleeding

"I'll be waiting" was all I responded while I was still being held back by Jon, Ryan and the jocks made their way out of the building, making sure they sent glares at mine and Jon's direction

When they all left, I tried to move, but I had forgotten that Jon still had a hold of me

"Jon, you can let go of me now"

"Oh, sorry" Jon replied as he finally released me

"You can sure cause some major damage, Sunshine, I'm impressed"

"Thanks, I just can't believe she had the nerve to get me from behind, I hate people like that" I huffed, trying to adjust my outfit

"Yeah, she's just mad because Joe dumped her for someone who's more his style" said Jon as he smoothed my hair for me, making me blush once again

Jon noticed and he smirked

"Do I make you nervous, Sunshine?"

"Not a lot" I answered, smiling weakly at him

"Come on, I get the feeling we're already late for class, so let's just skip, I'm going to send a message to Joe and Colby to meet us in our spot" replied Jon, taking his phone out and texting the other guys

"Won't we get in trouble, though?" I wondered as I followed Jon out of the school

"Nah, we hardly ever get caught" Jon answered, putting his phone away

After a few minutes of walking around, we had finally arrived at Jon's secret spot; it was in the middle of the hiking trail next to the school

"This place is very peaceful" I whispered

"It is" said Jon "Me and the guys come here whenever we want to relax or just don't want to go to class"

"I shouldn't be here Jon, this is yours, Colby's and Joe's secret spot, I shouldn't be imposing on your guy's personal area" I felt like I shouldn't be here

"Ana Maria, you're fine, you're the only one who knows about this area now, you're a cool girl and I get along with you, which is saying a lot because I hardly get along with the female population at the school, they all think I'm a drug addict or a drug dealer"

"I hardly think you are" I said to him "If anything, you're a kick-ass guy, and I like that about you, you're different from the guys back home in Texas, that's for sure"

"Why thank you, Sunshine" smiled Jon as he took a bow

"Are you guys having a heart to heart without us?" asked a voice behind us, I turned to see Colby and Joe standing behind us

"Yes, but you guys had to come and ruin it" I joked as I sat down on a grassy area and motioned for Jon to sit next to me

"So, Jon tells me a little Mexican firecracker went off on an ex-girlfriend of mine" Joe replied as he took some candy from his backpack and began passing it around

"You told him?" I asked, turning to face Jon, who was smiling widely at me

"She came up behind me and pulled me down by my hair, she tried hitting me, but I kept blocking her until I managed to punch her in the nose, I got a few good hits in before Jon pried me off her" I told him

"Well just for that, you are now one of us" said Colby, pulling me into a hug, which I returned

"I feel honored" I laughed as I broke away from Colby

"But, I should warn you, being one of us means you will get a lot of people to dislike you" Jon advised you

"You still want to be a part of our little group?" asked Joe

"My mom always said that high school is all about making friends and enemies along the way, so, of course I still want to be a part of your group" I said, placing my head on Jon's shoulder

"Well, since you are fully decided on joining our little ragtag group of misfits, tomorrow we will have a small ceremony to officially make you one of us" Colby told me as he gave me a slip of paper

"My address is in there, later on after school make sure you and Jon meet us there and we will get started"

"Alright, should I be worried, though?"

"Nope, it's nothing too dangerous" Jon replied in a teasing tone, placing his arm around me

And in that moment, as Jon had his arm around me, and Colby and Joe were fighting over the last piece of candy, I realized that I had finally found a small group of friends who were worth all the trouble I knew I would soon be getting myself into.

**Chapter 2 is finally up! I sincerely apologize for not uploading any sooner, I was always busy with my job and family drama also kept me from writing the chapter, but it's finally up! Please read and review and tell me what you think, I am also looking for someone to be my beta reader, pm me if you are interested, but other than that, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter 3 **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Confrontations

Jon, Colby, Joe and I were getting along pretty well, we always teased each other without getting nasty at one another, Jon always had these hilarious stories about Colby and Joe when they were kids growing up, I had never felt so at ease with anyone, but Jon, Colby and Joe were like the most laid-back, easygoing, trustworthy guys I had ever met in my life, that I honestly started to believe I belonged with these guys

As we tried to control our laughter, we heard the bell go off, signaling the end of the period and on to the next class

We were making our way towards the next period, when I took out my schedule from my backpack and saw that my next class was Chemistry and after that, I had lunch

"Let me take a look-see at your schedule, Ana Maria" said Colby as he made a grab for my schedule and began staring at it, and then Joe snatched it from his hands

"Cool, you have Chemistry and lunch with all of us, you have almost all classes with Jon and some with the three of us" Joe replied as he ignored Colby's protests for him to give him back my schedule

"Sounds like my semester is going to be lots of fun" I muttered, making the guys look at me with a semi-evil grin

"Oh, you best believe it will be Sunshine" Jon answered, placing his arm around me, and I started to feel my cheeks getting hot

The guys and I were already making our way into the door of our next class when we were all approached by a woman

Colby cursed under his breath, Jon looked livid, and Joe was glaring daggers at the woman, and the woman was glaring back at all of us, while I was just straight up confused and somewhat worried at was about to go down

"Ana Maria" Colby muttered "Meet my mom and Geometry teacher, Helena Lopez"

I looked over to the woman know known as Colby's mother, she looked in her mid-40's, tan, long black hair pulled into a ponytail, she was wearing a black blouse with a red pencil skirt and black high heels, her posture and outfit just screamed 'control freak' to me

But I still had to be polite, so I extended my hand "Pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Lopez"

Mrs. Lopez just stared at me for a minute before she finally decided to shake my hand and quickly release it

"Mr. Good, can you please explain why you weren't in my class today, we had a quiz on the recent chapter and you didn't show up"

"I apologize, Mrs. Lopez, but we were held back by Ryan Stone, he pushed Ana Maria and-"

"I should have known you'd just make another excuse for your tardiness" Mrs. Lopez sighed

I had then decided I would step in and defend my new best friend

"Mrs. Lopez, with all due respect, it's not an excuse, I have your class with Jon and we were on our way but Ryan pushed me down and I got into a heated argument with him, it wasn't Jon's fault we were late, it's mine, so if you feel the need to blame someone, place the blame entirely on me"

"You should know better than to stand up for someone as lowly as Jonathan Good then, young lady" Mrs. Lopez hissed

"Excuse me?"I raised a brow and anger was slowly creeping up on me

"You are new to the school, am I correct?"Asked Mrs. Lopez

"Yes"

"Then, I suggest you find a better group of friends then these two boys my son hangs out with, I still don't see why my son feels the need to-"

"Because those two boys that you loathe so much actually give a damn about me, they are the closest thing I have to brothers and it just bothers you so much that I have such a bond with Jon and Joe and not with you"

Mrs. Lopez looked like she just had the wind knocked out of her

"What would your father say if he ever saw you hanging out with these street rats?"

"Don't you even _dare_ bring my father into this" Colby shouted, causing all the passersby to stare at us

"My father would be damn proud to see me finally making friends, no matter where the fuck they came from, he wasn't so close-minded like you and he sure as hell wasn't judgmental"

I placed a comforting hand on Colby's shoulder, I felt him trembling in rage, like he was about to snap, and snap he did

"You should be the last person to talk about what my father would think, or have you forgotten who was the one to cause him to go into an early grave, because I sure as hell remember" Colby growled, and I saw all the color leaving Mrs. Lopez's face

"You have some nerve walking around still calling yourself Helena Lopez; you shouldn't even be a damn Lopez anymore, not after what you did to my dad!" Jon and Joe tried to make Colby stop by whispering at him to calm down, but no luck, if anything, it was making him all the more angrier

"Colby, you know I still-"

"Don't try and tell me you still loved Dad, or that you feel guilty, because I sure as hell know you didn't and that you feel a tad bit of remorse because you sure don't, yes, I'll admit that Dad made a wrong decision when he slept with that woman, but he was a man about it and he told you, he didn't hide it from you, he didn't make up any excuses, he had the balls to tell you and he tried to make it work with you, but what did you do?" Colby was seething; I placed my hand around his wrist to prevent him from approaching his mother

"Colby, I-"

"No, _mom,_ you wanted to confront us, now here we are, you wanted to make a scene in front of the school to make Jon and Joe feel like shit, well it looks to me like I turned the tables on that, I'm causing quite a scene and making the attention fall on you, mother!" Colby shouted as students were looking at him strangely

Joe looked at Jon, who was a bit unsure of how to handle the predicament we were in, and I was trying to soothe Colby by embracing him, I felt him shaking, which meant he was in tears

Mrs. Lopez looked like she was on the verge of tears herself, but she would not let herself get embarrassed in front of us

Colby then pulled away from me, tears still streaming down his face, and faced his mom once again

"You couldn't just accept his apology, you couldn't just accept his suggestion of going to marriage counseling, you had to make him pay for what he did, you had to make him feel pain for what he did to you that night, but it wasn't enough, was it? It wasn't enough that he had to catch you with his own brother in the bed that you shared with him on the anniversary of your marriage, but you caused him the heart attack that _ended his life_!

At that point, everything was quiet, my breath caught in my throat and I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach, Jon looked at a loss for words himself and Joe was just stunned

"Colby, we should get going, this isn't the place for this, man" Jon told Colby as he tried to pull him towards one of the school exits so he could cool off

"Whatever, I've said all I had to say, just don't expect me to come home tonight, I'm staying with Jon tonight"

And with those final words, Colby stormed off with me, Jon and Joe trailing behind

We had made our way back to the secret spot in the forest when Colby threw his arms around Joe and began to cry

I couldn't help but feel horrible for Colby, he was going through so much shit in his life, it didn't even compare to all the crap I was going through myself

Tears ran down my cheeks as I watched Colby sob and Joe comforted him, Jon placed his hand on Colby's shoulder to let him know he was there for him

I didn't know what to do so I just went up to him and embraced him from behind; I looked at Jon and silently motioned for him to join us in the group hug

Jon did as told and hugged Colby from the waist, Colby didn't stop crying and we never released him, we were all there for him

I may have only been here for a few hours, but I knew that these guys were brought to me for a reason; maybe it was a sign from God, who knows? But right now, all that mattered was comforting my fnewfound friend in his time of need

Moments later, Colby pulled away from us and wiped his eyes, and gave us a weak, sad smile

"Thank you guys, and I'm sorry you had to see all of that on your first day here Ana Maria"

"It's alright, Colby"

"I just knew that I was bound to release all that frustration and anger towards her, but no this soon, I don't care, I'm just glad I finally got all of that out of my chest" Colby muttered, running a hand through his two-toned hair

"You just want to stay here for the rest of the day? Or we can go eat lunch at the diner down the road" Jon suggested

"Yeah, maybe that's a good idea, we can head to Joe's house afterwards for Ana Maria's initiation ceremony" said Colby, grabbing his backpack

"We don't have to do it today, Colby" I told him as I followed him and the rest of the boys out of the school grounds

"Don't worry, Ana Maria, I want to do this" Colby answered, smiling at me "I need a distraction"

"Okay, Colby, we'll do the initiation today" I replied, putting my arm around his mid-section in a comforting manner

It was while we reached the diner that Jon talked about earlier, that my phone began to ring; I quickly answered "Hello?"

"Ana Maria, _donde estas_?" Crap, it's my aunt, she always speaks in Spanish when she gets extremely pissed off, I looked over at Jon and the guys, who looked at me in confusion

"_No se de que me hablas, tia" _I lied, but this woman knew me so damn well, she knew I was lying

"I just got a call from the school saying you skipped out on some your classes, it's only your first day in school and you're already skipping!?

I looked over to Jon, who mouthed _'who is it?'_

"_My aunt" _I whispered

"Who are you with?" asked my aunt Elizabeth

"I'm just with some friends, Aunt Elizabeth, he's going through a hard time and I just wanted to help him out" I sighed, trying not to let my frustration show

"What's his name?" my aunt asked, curiosity laced in her voice

"Colby Lopez" at the mention of his name, Colby shouted 'Hi!' making sure my aunt could hear him

"Helena Lopez's kid? He's such a sweet boy, too bad I can't say the same about his mother, she's so awful"

"_Believe me, I know" _I thought to myself

"I heard Colby say hi, tell him I say hello"

"I will, Aunt Elizabeth"

"Well, I'll let this incident slip by just once; we don't need your father sending Randy and Kaitlin to take you back to Texas"

I shuddered at the thought of my dad sending his so called 'bodyguards' to Cincinnati just to take me back to Houston

"So, who else are you with? I get the feeling that you're not just with Colby"

"I'm with Jon Good and Joe Anoa'i, they are Colby's best friends" I told her, hoping that she wouldn't blow a gasket for being with only guys, Joe and Jon shouted 'hellos' to my aunt, making me giggle

"Jon Good?" My aunt asked

"Yeah, he's super sweet and funny, you know him, I'm guessing?"

"He's a good kid, but for a kid his age, he's been through hell and back, probably worse than Colby, and I don't know much about Joe, except he's from somewhere in Hawaii, what he's doing living here in Cincinnati is beyond me" my aunt explained

"Well, I'll see you when I get home later, Aunt Liz, love you"

"Love you too Ana Maria, just remember, I'm gonna be working a late night shift at the hospital, so I'm letting you know now since it seems you've made friends, that if they'd like they can stay the night, but please don't trash the house"

That brightened my day entirely

"Thanks Aunt Liz!"

"Bye, honey, the key will be under the welcome mat" and with that, the call ended

"I didn't know your aunt was Elizabeth Rodriguez, she's so nice, I had my arm dislocated once and she helped me put it back in place, she then gave me a snickers bar" said Jon as he entered the diner, me, Joe and Colby following suit

"Yeah, she was just letting me know that she had gotten a call from the school about me skipping and she wanted to know where I was, I told her I was with you all, and she gave me some good news"

"What is it?" wondered Joe

"She's going to be working a late night shift at the hospital and she said if you guys want to, you can come and stay the night with me tonight" the guys cheered and high-fived me

"We can do the initiation at your house then" Colby said, as a waitress came by to give us our menus

After we ordered our beverages, the guys and I talked about our sleepover later tonight

"I have to call my mom and dad to let them know, but I think they'll be okay with it, they're pretty laid back" Joe said as he got his phone and dialed his mom's number

"My mom doesn't give a fuck where I'm at, just as long as I don't come home" Jon said bitterly, I felt horrible for Jon, I wondered if his relationship with his mom was strained just like Colby and his mom

"Alright guys and gals, y'all ready to order?" asked the waitress, whose name tag read "Emmy"

"I'll just get a cheeseburger with no onions and no tomatoes" I muttered, giving Emmy the menu back

"Same here" said Jon as he handed Emmy the menu back as well

"We'll get the same thing" said Colby and Joe

"Alright, your orders will be out in a few minutes" Emmy said as she finished writing our meals down and went back into the kitchen

"So, what exactly am I going to be expecting at this little 'initiation' you guys have planned for me?" I asked as Emmy had come back with our drinks

"Nothing too fancy" was Jon's only answer

"That wasn't vague at all, Jon" I teased as I took a sip of my Dr. Pepper

"Well, for one, you'll be getting a cool sweater out of it" said Colby

That got my interest

"That sounds exciting; I'm not joining a cult am I?" I asked, making the guys laugh

"No, you're not joining a cult, Ana Maria, you're joining a team" Joe responded

"A team that looks out for each other" added Jon

"And a team that protects each other" Colby said

"Well, who am I to refuse something as meaningful as that?" I replied

Our food had finally arrived and we began to eat

While we ate, we talked more about the little initiation the guys had planned for me

"After we finish eating, I'm going to have to go home to get the stuff we need for later, but I'll meet up with you guys later, I know where your aunt lives, I always go to her house for trick-or-treating, she gives out the best candy on the block" Colby said as he munched on some French fries

"Can I tag along? My mom just said I can stay with you guys tonight, but I need to get some clothes for tomorrow" Joe said

"Sure, I won't be running into my mom for a bit, so yeah you can tag along, can you walk with Ana Maria to her house, Jon?" asked Colby

"It would be my pleasure" said Jon as he winked at me, making me turn crimson again

Once we finished eating, Joe and Colby went on to their homes and Jon and I walked the short distance to my house, I had been to Cincinnati as a kid before, and so I knew my way around the area a bit

"So, I remember you telling us in English Lit that you love wrestling?" asked Jon, trying to make conversation

"Yeah, I remember when I was younger I would always ask my dad to change it to Monday Night Raw just so I could watch The Undertaker fight, he's my favorite wrestler, and so is Mankind, Ken Shamrock and Edge, hope you don't think I'm a weirdo for being a wrestling fan"

"Not at all, I have a bunch of favorite wrestlers, so I can't exactly say which one is my favorite, there's Sting, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, and so many others, and it's hard to pick just one"

"That's why Joe, Colby and I are so close" Jon added

"We share a passion for wrestling, and we promised ourselves that one day we would be the best and the greatest 3-man tag team"

I noticed that Jon was so passionate about this, I could tell by the way he talked and made hand gestures that this was what his dream was, to be a professional wrestler

"I really hope your dream one day becomes a reality, Jon" I told him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze

"Thank you Sunshine" answered Jon, squeezing my hand back

While we walked over to my house, we had just stopped talking and enjoyed the comfortable silence we had fallen in

I then felt Jon's fingers interlock with mine, and I decided not to ruin the moment by speaking, so I just chose to place my head on Jon's shoulder as we walked towards my house hand in hand, Jon looked at me and smiled his famous dimpled smile and gave me a chaste kiss on my forehead

"I think this is the beginning of something amazing, Jon Good" I finally spoke

"Indeed it is, Ana Maria Rodriguez, indeed it is"


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome To The Shield

Chapter 4

When Jon and I arrived at my house, I picked up the key from under the mat and unlocked the door

"You want anything to drink?" I asked Jon as I threw my backpack on the ground of the foyer

"You got any beer?" called Jon behind me; I laughed a bit at him and searched the fridge for beer

My aunt knew I drank from time to time, and she was cool with me drinking, as long as I drank at home

"We have Heineken and Smirnoff, pick your poison" I told him showing him the bottles

"Get me a Heineken, Smirnoff is not my kind of drink" said Jon, walking over to me and getting the beer bottle

"Let's go see if anything is on TV right now while we wait for Joe and Colby" I suggested while we made our way to the den

"Speaking of Colby, I do feel like shit after I heard of how his dad died, I didn't think he'd speak of the incident so freely" Jon stated, taking a swig of his beer

"He was angry, my best guess is that he finally decided to let it all out, the bad thing though is pretty much the whole school knows and Mrs. Lopez will be placed in a bad light from now on" I supposed, drinking my beverage

"He told us what happened on the day of his father's funeral, his mom came clean to him that day and from that day on, Colby has hated his mom ever since, Colby admired his dad, he looked up to Mr. Lopez because he always believed in him when his mom doubted him, Joe and I met him a month before the incident, so we didn't know much about Mr. Lopez, but whenever Colby mentioned him, his eyes would brighten up and he would talk so highly of him, whenever his dad came clean to him about the cheating, Colby was disappointed in him because he thought he loved his mom, but Mr. Lopez came clean to his wife, and he was a man about it, but Mrs. Lopez couldn't bring herself to forgive him and she denied him the idea of taking marriage counseling, so she decided to pay him back by betraying him the same way, only she slept with his own brother in their bed, it was the night of the anniversary, and from what Colby tells me, his dad wanted to surprise her with flowers and chocolates, but when he opened the door and turned the lights on, he saw his own brother with his wife, he got upset and started beating his brother into a pulp, but halfway through the beat down, Mr. Lopez began having a heart attack, Mrs. Lopez called an ambulance, but they had arrived 2 minutes too late, he was already dead when the paramedics arrived on their front door, Colby was asleep when his mom woke him up to tell him, he was devastated"

I sat there listening to Jon tell Colby's story in shock, I couldn't believe he had been through such an ordeal

"Colby is a tough guy on the outside, but on the inside, he is a helpless child, when his dad died, a piece of him died as well, but when he met Joe and me, I noticed he was more upbeat, more happy and more optimistic about life, he just can't bring himself to forgive his mom, and he can't even look at his uncle without kicking the shit out of him, I remember one time when Colby had invited us over for dinner on Thanksgiving at his Aunt Lillian's place in Akron, and we were in the guest room playing a video game when his Aunt Grace called us down to eat, we were all making our way to the dining area when we ran into his Uncle Chris, when Colby saw him, I swear on my life that all sanity left him as he tackled the man to the ground and began pummeling him, we were near the stairs and Colby pushed him down, and his uncle went barreling downward, but Colby wasn't finished apparently because he ran down the stairs and kept punching him, me and Joe tried to separate him, but in his anger, Colby socked me on the nose and he punched Joe in the eye, everyone noticed what was going on and raced to get Colby away from his uncle"

Jon paused for a moment to take a drink of his beer before he continued

"His mom was angry and demanded he apologize to his uncle, and Colby just laughed and told her it would be a cold day in hell when he would apologize to the guy, he doesn't even acknowledge him as a family member anymore, to Colby, Chris Lopez will always be the man that tore his family apart"

I stayed silent for a moment to let what Jon had just told me sink in; Colby's life was much more complicated than mine, to say the least

"All I can say is, I'm glad he has you and Joe in his life, it seem s to me that you boys keep him grounded"

"Yeah, I mean with my mom, it's a straight up hate-hate relationship, we never got along and it's pretty obvious we never will, but Joe has the opposite relationship with his parents, he has both of them in his life, they are very supportive of what he does, but Colby and his mom, they had a good relationship in the beginning, but his mom fucked it up because of one mistake his dad made that could've been easily fixed"

I placed a comforting hand on Jon's shoulder "I kind of know what you are going through, I don't have the best relationship with my mom or dad right now, which is the main reason I moved out here with my aunt" I sighed, running a hand through my black hair, wondering if I should tell him why I moved out here

"How bad can your parents be? It's not like your parents are criminals or something, right?" Jon teased, placing an arm around my waist

"_If only you knew, Jon"_ I thought, lowering my head on his shoulder, should I tell him the real reason I left Houston? I only met him, Colby and Joe today, but I felt a strong connection with all of them, especially Jon

"Jon, I think I should be completely honest with you, the real reason I left Houston was-"

"Hello? Ana Maria, Joe and I are here!" Colby's voice rang out as he banged on the front door

"I'm coming" I walked over and let Joe and Colby inside, they were both carrying two large brown paper bags

"Hey, what's all this?" I asked

"This is the stuff we will need to initiate you into our little group" Joe replied as he placed the bag on the living room floor

I felt like I had to tell them the reason why I left Houston; I realized that I wasn't being completely honest

"Ana Maria, you okay? You look like you have something on your mind" Jon replied, placing his hands on my shoulders

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, when I released my breath and opened my eyes, I sat down and spoke

"I appreciate everything you guys are doing for me, accepting me into your group of friends and making me feel welcome, but I feel like I should be completely honest with all of you, I'm going to tell you the real reason why I left Houston"

"Why do I get the feeling she's going to be dropping a major bomb on us?" asked Colby as he took a seat on the couch, Jon and Joe sat next to him

"_Here goes nothing, I guess"_

"My parents are David and Amelia Rodriguez-Medici, they are the most powerful mob bosses in all of Texas, and I am their only daughter, Ana Maria Rodriguez-Medici, I left Houston because I wanted to escape all the blood that my parents had on their hands, all the blood they spilled to give me the life they never had, they've killed so many people in the name of love for me, but I just couldn't live with all the guilt that was consuming me, all the murders they committed and all the crimes they've done, it was all too much for me, so I left, my parents were angry that I chose to leave after all they had supposedly done for me, but I couldn't handle being there, seeing them come home in dried blood every night, so my aunt Elizabeth allowed for me to come live with her here, she knows of what my parents do, she's my dad's sister and although doesn't agree with what my parents do, she still covers for them, because she can't bear to see her brother in a jail cell, I honestly thought that I wouldn't make any friends by coming here, but you three proved me wrong, and we've only known each other for a few hours but I feel like I've known you guys my whole life, Jon, Colby and Joe, you guys have been amazing and sweet towards me, I can't thank you enough for your kindness, but I felt like I couldn't be a part of your group unless I was honest with all of you, so there it is, I understand if you guys want to leave, I will not place blame on all of you if you walk out"

I was shaking as I stared at the guys, their faces blank and void of any emotion

"Guys" I pleaded, tears beginning to brim in my eyes "Please say something, anything"

Jon got up and walked over to me, I began to think that he was going to say goodbye to me, so I immediately dropped my gaze onto the floor, letting my tears fall freely

"Ana, please look at me" whispered Jon

"I can't, I'm too ashamed of myself to do so" I whimpered

I felt Jon's hands gently lift my head, but I still couldn't look at him

"Open your eyes, sweetheart" Jon pleaded

I finally did as he told me, then I felt his arms envelop me in a hug

"Don't be ashamed, sunshine; you have no fault over the actions of your parents"

"Ana, you're a wonderful girl, we aren't anyone to judge you for what your parents do, you may be their daughter, but you are not a criminal like they are, you're a sweet, innocent, loving and caring person" Joe put in as he walked over to me and pulled me into a hug

"It doesn't matter where you come from or what you come from, a friend is a friend above all" Colby spoke as he patted my shoulder

"So, you guys still want me to be in your group?" I asked meekly as I broke away from the hug

"Yes" the guys said in unison

"Let's get started then, shall we?"

Colby then ran to get the bags and began to take out the items that were inside them

While Colby got prepared, I went to the kitchen to make the guys a sandwich, knowing they were probably hungry again

"Ana Maria, you got a minute?" asked Jon as he showed up in the kitchen

"Hey Jon, what's on your mind?" I wondered

"Look, I wanted to ask if you would probably, I don't know, I know we just met not too long ago, but I really like you and-"

"Jonathan Good, are you asking me out on a date?" I was in shock, but at the same time, I was doing my happy dance inside my head

"Well, yeah I mean, if you don't mind, it's cool if you don't want to go on a date with me, I just-"

I was smiling at how nervous he sounded, so I decided to shut him up the only way I could think of at the moment

I kissed him, on the lips

Boy, who knew Jon was such an amazing kisser?

When I pulled away, I smiled widely at him and winked at him

"I'd love to go out on a date with you"

Jon then gave me a hug and kissed my cheek

"Thank you, Ana Maria"

"Hey guys" we heard Colby calling us from the living room, Jon and I walked into the living room and saw that the living room was covered by the blinds, making the room semi-darkened

"It's time" Joe replied

Jon gently pushed me towards the middle of the living room and Colby had me stand in front of him

"Ana Maria Rodriguez, you are here today because you have proven yourself worthy of being a member of our group of friends, you are a person worthy of being a member of The Shield, we are a group of brothers, not of blood, but brothers in arms, we look out after each other, protect one another when one of us is in danger, you Ana Maria Rodriguez, have the qualities of being a member of our group, do you accept to be a member of The Shield?"

I looked over Colby to look at Jon and Joe, who smiled at me as both gave a thumbs-up

"I accept to be a member of The Shield" I told Colby

"And do you accept to protect and support your brothers in any situation, good or bad?"

"I accept"

"And finally" said Colby "Do you accept to always stand by your brothers no matter what comes our way?"

"I accept"

"Then Ana Maria, on behalf of myself, Colby Lopez and my brothers, Jonathan Good and Joseph Anoa'i, I'd like to welcome you to our family, The Shield" Colby smiled at me as he gave me a hug and then pulled away, motioning for Joe and Jon to come over

"Welcome to The Shield, Ana Maria" said Jon as he gave me a rectangular sized box enveloped in black wrapping paper

"What is it?" I asked, looking at the box

"Open it and see for yourself" Joe answered, so I sat down on the couch and made waste of the wrapping paper and opened the box, inside was a black zip up hooded jacket, and on the back there was a design, the heads of three evil looking demon dogs in a circular motion, I took it out of the box and put it on

"You look really good in that jacket, Ana Maria" said Colby, patting me on the back

"Thanks"

Joe then wrapped me in a hug "It's good to finally have a girl in our group" Joe said, messing up my hair as a big brother would

Finally, Jon made his way towards me and threw his arms around me, hugging me as tightly as he could, I then placed my arms around his neck, inhaling his scent, which was intoxicating, but I wasn't complaining

"Welcome to The Shield, doll" was all he said before he leaned down to kiss me


End file.
